Duck Pond/pool pictures

[furbabymum]

Hi everyone,
I am getting my first ducks soon and I love all of your ideas for duck setups! I have a question - duck poop water (LOL) is not "hot" like chicken poop and can be used directly on plants (so I've read). Can you overdo it though? Is it something you should use once a week or less, not every day? I have a lot of gardens so I figure I can drain my kiddie pool once a day and then rotate which gardens get the water ... but I just wanted to know how much is too much. Also, is it going to stink???

Another question I have - do you all lock your ducks up at night in some kind of housing to protect them from predators, or do you just rely on your enclosure to keep them safe? We have chickens and we lock them in their coop at night where they still have free access to food and water. But I've read that ducks don't like to be locked up, and if you do it should only be for a minimum number of hours - but with no food or water because they make such a mess. Any thoughts on this? The enclosure that I am making for my ducks won't be too secure (good enough to keep them in and to keep dogs and such out - but racoons, possums, etc will be able to climb the fence and there is no top).

Thanks!

I use duck poop water every single day to water the plants in the enclosure.

One thing I wondered about that is if it's safe to eat the lettuce, etc that i'm watering with the poo water.

 

[MyBlackHen]

1. I use duck poop all the time with no special accommodations. If it's from the pen it goes into a compost pile. If it's from the kiddie pool it's drained directly into one of the gardens.

2. I lock mine up at night with no food or water. They aren't always content but they are safe. Which is the most important thing to me.

Thanks very much! Can anyone post pictures of your duck houses? I would appreciate it! (unless there is another place on this site that has pictures?)

 

[Bridgertrot]

Bridgertrot, unfortunately, as soon as the end of the hose that you are holding is above the top of the water level, the water will stop coming out. It won't make any difference how long the hose is. You would have to use a pump to get it to come out while you were walking around watering the garden.

Thanks for the response. Oh well...the pond slightly uphill so I can just let it drain itself.

Here is my work in progress. We just put up the fence yesterday...it's not predator proof yet so they still can only swim with supervision.

 

[tweetysvoice]

Thanks very much! Can anyone post pictures of your duck houses? I would appreciate it! (unless there is another place on this site that has pictures?)

We keep ours double protected from preditors. I'm really paranoid about loosing them. They have an inner run and an outer run - that's covered by deer netting and tarps. Here are pics to give you an idea of what is working for us!



You can see my duck house on the right side - it's just a dog house. (The chicken coop is the longer one on the left) We keep our chickens and ducks locked in this 10x10 dog run at night. Lock them up at sunset and let them out in the morning. This kennel is surrounded by their entire run that they get full access too during the day:

 

[MyBlackHen]

We keep ours double protected from preditors. I'm really paranoid about loosing them. They have an inner run and an outer run - that's covered by deer netting and tarps. Here are pics to give you an idea of what is working for us!



You can see my duck house on the right side - it's just a dog house. (The chicken coop is the longer one on the left) We keep our chickens and ducks locked in this 10x10 dog run at night. Lock them up at sunset and let them out in the morning. This kennel is surrounded by their entire run that they get full access too during the day:

Thanks so much for posting - you have a nice setup! I was on craigslist this morning looking for dog houses ... lots listed, crossing my fingers that at least one is still available!

 

[new2ducks]

I really like your setup! Thanks for sharing. I'm glad to see the doghouse you have, I noticed that one online and thought it would be great for the winter so they can get away from any drafts. I did a double fencing too. They get let out in the mornings and when I have any appointments for work I get them back into their inner kennel with frozen peas! This morning my husband comes home and told me he let the "jail birds" out...LOL I also see you have chairs there...I have a lounge chair in mine too! Love to enjoy my ducks! My grandkids love to go in there with them too. My 3 yr old grandson brings in his dump trucks and just plays in there.

 

[MyBlackHen]

Hooray! I found a dog house on craigslist!

It actually looks very similar to the one you have, tweetysvoice! I found a kiddie pool too, and we already have a large dog kennel. Just need to get the brooder ready in the barn and we'll be all set!

 

[tweetysvoice]

Awesome! The kiddie pool is the way too go. I learned the hard way. Got a stock tank and buried it, but it's way too much work with the mess the ducks make! This weekend we are filling the hole back in and going the kiddie pool route so duckies can get some fresher water more often.

Thanks new2ducks, yeah, When it wasn't so dang hot outside, I'd go out there after work and just sit and read and watch them for over an hour. The antics are hilarious! It's nice to have the double layered run. We lock them into the inner one during the night and if it's storming really bad outside. If anything - it makes me feel a lot better! and I had to LOL about the frozen peas - that's our "come hither" treat as well!

 

[PeanutnCashew]

Hi everyone,
I am getting my first ducks soon and I love all of your ideas for duck setups! I have a question - duck poop water (LOL) is not "hot" like chicken poop and can be used directly on plants (so I've read). Can you overdo it though? Is it something you should use once a week or less, not every day? I have a lot of gardens so I figure I can drain my kiddie pool once a day and then rotate which gardens get the water ... but I just wanted to know how much is too much. Also, is it going to stink???

Another question I have - do you all lock your ducks up at night in some kind of housing to protect them from predators, or do you just rely on your enclosure to keep them safe? We have chickens and we lock them in their coop at night where they still have free access to food and water. But I've read that ducks don't like to be locked up, and if you do it should only be for a minimum number of hours - but with no food or water because they make such a mess. Any thoughts on this? The enclosure that I am making for my ducks won't be too secure (good enough to keep them in and to keep dogs and such out - but racoons, possums, etc will be able to climb the fence and there is no top).

Thanks!

Hello,

I dont use the duck poop for fertilizer so cant help ya there..lol...but as far as locking the ducks up at night, I do bring my ducks inside at night because that is when the predators come out. I do not have a top on my outside enclosure so no way will I leave them out there. They do not like it when it starts getting dark, they come to the door begging to come in.

 

[PeanutnCashew]

We keep ours double protected from preditors. I'm really paranoid about loosing them. They have an inner run and an outer run - that's covered by deer netting and tarps. Here are pics to give you an idea of what is working for us!



You can see my duck house on the right side - it's just a dog house. (The chicken coop is the longer one on the left) We keep our chickens and ducks locked in this 10x10 dog run at night. Lock them up at sunset and let them out in the morning. This kennel is surrounded by their entire run that they get full access too during the day:

Very nice..I want to live there..lol